My Favorite Albums of 2018 (so far)

April 13, 2018

  • Blahsum- Moontape III- This mixtape from Blahsum, an underground rap-rock group from New York, is a psychedelic barrage of free-associative rhymes, trippy guitar solos, and twisted ramblings about drugs and apathy. I discovered this little-known tape by this little-known group through social media, and I’ve been hooked since. It’s sort of like if Earl Sweatshirt and Danny Brown were in a rock band.
    • MGMT- Little Dark Age- This album is whimsical, carnivalesque, and gothic all at once. MGMT’s signature synth sound takes on a dreamy tone. Combine that with wispy vocals and dense arrangements, and this makes for one of the most sonically engaging albums of the year.
    • JPEGMAFIA- Veteran- The poppy trap of Lil Uzi Vert meets the punky industrial hip-hop of Death Grips. Sounds like it wouldn’t work, right? Well, surprisingly, it does. This album has tons of energy, heavily textured production, a lot of personality, funny one-liners, and shockingly catchy hooks. This marks the blossoming of the latest new and exciting voice in rap.
    • Andrew W.K.- You’re Not Alone- Given its arena-rock/glam metal instrumentals and slightly corny lyricism, I initially perceived this albums as being tongue-in-cheek. And maybe it is to a certain degree. But there’s still enough sincerity and endearing personality to keep it from ever dipping into the realm of novelty. All the songs on here are catchy, memorable, and a ton of fun.
    • Jack White- Boarding House Reach- The problem with rock music nowadays is that too many artists decide to look to the past for inspiration rather than blaze new ground on their own. Jack White luckily took it upon himself to break that trend with this record, a collection of experimental blends of rock, electronic, and even some hip-hop, that is still rooted in the blues rock sound he’s known for. Listening to it is wonderfully exciting because you never know where White will go next. Miraculously, the experiments never become grating.
    • Kacey Musgraves- Golden Hour- This album isn’t quite perfect. At times it’s bland and overproduced, and I wish it were rooted more in the country sound that made Musgraves famous in the first place. But overall, the pop ambience, tender piano flourishes, and clever songwriting make this one of the year’s most enjoyable listens and boldest statements to the country music establishment.
  • Honorable Mention: Portal- Ion- I loved this album for its calculated, methodical, dense walls of guitar noise and dark ambient passages. But, like so many extreme metal albums, it becomes very boring after a certain point.